Breathe It Out
by Ryouko Akizakura
Summary: He'd never liked leaving his debts unrepaid.


**Author's Note**: Well, this wasn't supposed to be 1896, at first. I wanted to write something special for Sakagami Rose, but it ended up being a fic about a pairing she's not familiar with, which ruins the point, in my opinion. So, anyway, thank you, for giving me so long to write this, my friend. Happy late birthday, and I hope you enjoy this!

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn.

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><p>It had been a rough day. It had been a rough day for all of them. All of the guardians of Sawada Tsunayoshi, the Tenth boss of the Vongola Family, they were <em>all<em> wounded. Sasagawa Ryohei broke his hands during the fight with Byakuran's subordinates. Yamamoto Takeshi's sword was snapped in two. Gokudera Hayato's dynamite had exploded within inches from his face, temporarily blinding him in both eyes. Lambo, the cow-like creature that bounced around and 'annoyed' everyone was unconscious in the school's hospital room beside the one where Dokuro Chrome was being held. Aside from Tsunayoshi, only one Guardian had escaped with no more than a purpling bruise.

Physically, that is.

Blood dripped from a cut on the side of his face, just below his narrowed left eye as he watched the boiling sky remorsefully. It wasn't in his nature to care for others, but this time, he cared. He'd let her down, and he knew that. He _hated_ that. She'd done him a favor, and when she'd needed him most, he'd let her down. Left her hanging, out in open water for another carnivore to take a bite out of.

Normally, he'd be indifferent toward the kind-hearted herbivore, but the honesty in her violet eye when she'd looked at him before falling to the earth…It had ripped a hole into his heart larger than the size of the frozen block of ice it had become. His concrete heart hadn't been beating, but with that look, that gaze, it had come back to life. No one had ever looked at him like that before. It was almost as if…

She wasn't afraid of him.

And that made it even heavier to bear. The burden of facing the fact he'd let her down was too much to bear. Looking into her eyes now would be suicide—the instant they'd meet, he'd be crucified in their depths, trapped within the confines of those circles. The thought of meeting her out there made him feel sick. His stomach twanged, his left eye narrowing painfully. He still hadn't healed. But his wounds were nothing compared to the ones she'd suffered.

The screams of agony, and pain had been potent, thick upon the air as she lay at his feet, dying within a pool of her own blood. He hadn't made it in time—he wouldn't make it in time. Even though his touch on her pale arms had betrayed the feelings of contempt and hatred rising within him, he couldn't help but feel regret, and remorse. He hadn't made it to her in time. She'd suffered for his weakness. That was the difference he'd been struggling to breach.

So he sat, perched upon the roof of the school above Chrome's room, tightening and loosening his bone-white fingers against the stonewall. Though there had been a battle the day before, it was sunny outside, with not a cloud in the sky. He was free to soar, to bask in the warmth of the sky, but he remained staked where he was, the cross bearing heavily upon his heart. That herbivore…He clenched his fist.

Hibari Kyouya was crying.

It wasn't a loud sound. It wasn't a tentative sound, for you could hear it if you listened intently. It was hushed, toxic, as if the skylark above his head were crying. Inside, his heart had already given up. He'd surrendered, something he'd sworn to himself he'd _never_ do. And yet, that herbivore was…He clenched his teeth, grinding them against each other. He was a pathetic, useless excuse for—

"Kumo-san?" Kyouya didn't turn—didn't falter at the sound of her voice. He didn't want to hear it; he didn't want to _feel_ her. He was a terrible person, and as much as he wished his personality was a bit warmer, he couldn't go back. "Kumo-san, is everything alright?"

"Go back to bed," he muttered. "You're not well enough to be up and walking around."

Her bare arm brushed his white sleeve as she sat down next to him, his yellow pet bird hopping from his shoulder to hers. "I'm alright, don't worry about me."

"I'm not worried about you, herbivore," Kyouya drawled, Chrome's violet eyes widening. "You smell of hospital and surgery."

She scooted to the left a bit, clutching her arms around her knees. "I'm-I'm sorry, Kumo-san," she said. "Should I move farther away?"

_Now_ he felt like a wretch.

"Don't crowd me," he retorted, "or I'll bite you to death."

She slid back over, her hair billowing against her cheeks as she glanced at him. "Thank you for letting me stay, Kumo-san," she answered. Kyouya said nothing. So, Chrome continued. "It's a beautiful day out, especially after the battle yesterday." She leaned her head back, the hem of her white dress lulling across her folded legs. "So bright, and pure, and blue."

Kyouya stayed silent.

"Even though the sky was boiling yesterday, it was still beautiful," she continued, looking up into the sky. "I've never felt stronger, even though I was certain I was going to die." She turned to Kyouya, and smiled gently. "I think, that it was because you were there that I felt stronger. I felt like I could battle anything, because you were behind me."

She paused, allowing for her words to sink in, turning back to the cloudless sky above her. Chrome was at a loss for what to do next. She'd dropped the hint, now all she could do was wait for him to put the pieces together. The wind rippled through her bangs against her eye-patch, as she held her knees close to her chest. With her shield around her heart firmly in place, she shifted to face Kyouya.

"It was because of you that I had the courage to fight," she murmured. "So, what I'm trying to say is…"

"How long are you going to sit there talking to yourself?" Kyouya demanded. Chrome blinked.

"I-I was," she started softly, "talking to you, Kumo-san."

"I thought you'd say that," he answered slowly, his pale gray eyes firmly fixed upon the clear, cloudless blue ceiling above his head. Chrome sighed.

"I didn't want you to feel alone, Kumo-san," she said. "That's why I came out here."

Kyouya's heart throbbed.

Chrome smiled, shifting back a little. "You're always by yourself, so, I thought that I'd give you some company this time," she finished, turning to him with a gentle smile on her face. Kyouya's pale eyes softened.

"I like to be alone," he answered quietly, turning away. "I hate crowds."

"I'm just one person," Chrome offered. "A crowd is more than two people." She lifted up her fingers, drawing Kyouya's attention again. He watched as she pointed to herself, then at him in a non-threatening manner. "You and I are two people. That's not a crowd."

"I prefer it be just one person," he countered. Chrome's finger didn't fall. It gently poked him in the side of the face, his left eye narrowing angrily. "Go back to bed," he ordered.

"All I'm saying is, Kumo-san," she started, pulling her finger back and curling her arms around her knees once more. "You aren't alone. You don't have to be. I'll be there for you, alright?"

Kyouya's heart was pounding. "_Go back to bed_," he repeated through gritted teeth.

His pet bird chirped. "You aren't alone. You don't have to be."

"_I'll bite you to death_," Kyouya warned, turning to the blushing Chrome, who was staring at the bird with a shocked and _horrified_ eye.

When Chrome regained her composure, she squeaked at the sight of the furious Hibari Kyouya glaring at her. She shifted on the stonewall, and smiled at his glare, lifting her right hand slowly. He watched her carefully, staring into her deep, purple eye as her hand moved closer and closer, her fingertips brushing the left side of his face. His eyes widened as her entire hand touched his cheek, holding it gently, soothingly, as he stared back at her in complete shock. Her fingertips brushed across the cut below his trembling left eye, feather light in the steady breeze.

Nothing like this had ever happened to him before. Girls had come close, if they weren't scared witless after he'd threatened them to get away, but they'd always kept a wary distance. But Chrome, she wasn't afraid. She wasn't afraid at all. She shifted her entire body across the small span of distance between their bodies, and leaned her face closer, coming eye-to-eye with him. Kyouya held his breath, unsure of how to act, what to do, keeping perfectly still, hoping that she'd change her mind and back away.

Just like the rest of them.

But she didn't back away. She didn't avert her eye, or bite her bottom lip in nervousness. She held firm, loosely gripping onto the side of his face as she leaned closer. Locks of purple hair brushed the lengths of his jawbones, his black bangs freezing against his burning temples. He wasn't blushing, but his face had somehow grown hot. He didn't understand what was going on. He didn't understand it at all. All he knew was that he was enjoying it. He knew what was going to happen next almost by instinct. So, he made the next move.

He took a hold of the hand that cradled the side of his face, and with his other hand, reached out for her other arm, grabbing onto it, and pulling her closer. She gasped in surprise, but her voice was cut off as soft, warm lips touched hers. It wasn't at all awkward. Chrome slid her fingers into his raven-colored hair and clutched the side of his head tersely, her grip limp against Kyouya's temple, but strong for someone so delicate and small. Kyouya didn't push her away, though his head was screaming for him to send her falling from the roof, but he couldn't move. His body wasn't listening to him.

For the first time in his life, Hibari Kyouya felt afraid. No. Not afraid. _Terrified_. Though he knew what this was, and what the details of it were, he couldn't help but tremble. Fire blossomed through his veins, the sweetness of her lips breathed life into him. His instincts told him to stay where he was, so he obeyed them. There was nothing more to it than that. Nothing he'd ever experienced could compare to what was coursing through his veins now. And because of that, he was afraid.

Chrome slid closer, her side brushing up against his beating heart, his bruised abdomen. Though the pain irritated him, he wanted her to be closer, to come closer. He hadn't pushed her away, he hadn't threatened her, so why was she so far away? Letting go of both her hands, he reached forward, and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her across the pitiful stretch of distance between them. Her hands fell slightly, her purple eye widening in quiet surprise.

Kyouya lost himself in the gentleness of the wind, the saccharinity of her lips, the delicate form in his arms. He didn't want to let her go—not after yesterday, not after watching her die slowly at his feet and being rendered absolutely helpless within the gaze of her lonely violet eye. Crucified, arms held outstretched, he couldn't take it. He couldn't take that feeling of vulnerability, defenselessness. And holding her now, he felt safe again. Like everything was as it should be. Like everything was at peace.

"I don't," Chrome said, pulling back. Kyouya blinked. She smiled as she lifted her head, focusing her gentle amethyst iris upon him. "I don't blame you, Kumo-san."

"I don't care whether you blame me or not, herbivore," he retorted. Despite the hostility his words carried, he clutched her closer, tighter. "So long as it remains like this, I couldn't care less."

"Kumo-san," she breathed, as he rested his head on her shoulder. Kyouya let his eyes fall shut, allowing himself this one moment of weakness. Chrome nodded against his shoulder, and lifted her arms to embrace him in return. "Thank you."


End file.
